another hospital bag post

I know you must be screaming at the screen: "get your act together and pack that bag already!" Right?? Well given that I am not happy until I have considered all options and researched something until that subjects hides from me on Google she is so scared of me, I am still on this subject and I am still holding off packing that bag until I know I have a complete list.

I did what I do best and Googled away all day looking for inspiration and items that other moms and dads who have already been through this found they needed and they forgot or simply didn't know they needed until it they were already in hospital. I worry especially as we live a good 30 minutes with no traffic (45-1hour with heavy traffic) away from the hospital and I would hate the thought of D having to leave me to go grab something I forgot. Did I fail to mention I am starting to freak out a little about whether I will be able to give birth???? Planning and researching keeps me calm so please hang in there with me...

Anyway, this is what I found for dad- to be-and when I sent the links to D he was super excited to have all of this information and is now more eager than I am to pack the TODAY:

http://www.noodad.com/wp/instructions/predad/if_i_could_pack_my_hospital_bag_over_again This is a brilliant list for dads to be on what to pack and what to pack with a lot of humor thrown in there (this is the one that got D thinking he should pack!)

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/forfathersonly/a/dadlaborbag.htm This is more of a formal list but nonetheless it's useful in identifying what items must be going in the daddy to be bag for the hospital. I especially like this one for reminding dads to bring pain relief medication.. I can imagine D getting the mother of all headaches with all the screaming I will be doing!! Earplugs are not an option though!

http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/2313/pregnancy-packing-for-the-hospital This is a GREAT post from a father's prospective on imminent labour and the fear of being unprepared as far as packing goes. It also has a list of what fathers-to-be should pack! I personally will steal his idea of putting a bag with old towels and a trash bag in the back of my car in case my water breaks whilst I am driving!

These are the links I have found most useful for my bag and that of the baby:

http://www.squidoo.com/hospital-bag A great article on What (not) not to bring with you, to the point and very useful! In this article it says not to bring your pillow unless it's an old one you wouldn't mind getting ruined. I have a few of these so I'll make sure I'll leave my favourite one home!
http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-tools/articles/checklist-packing-a-hospital-bag.aspx The Bump has a lot of useful info and their hospital list does not disappoint. You can even print it out and tick it as you go along.

http://www.mumsnet.com/pregnancy/hospital-bag I love this list because it divides up the items you need and don't need in a very easy way to follow, because most of the suggestions are by other moms and so it's first hand advice and finally because some of the suggestions on here are new to me. Things like wearing a dark colour nightgown to avoid stains showing easily, bringing a plastic bag to put all your dirty clothes in when you are ready to go home, towels you don't mind getting lost or dirty (this is a big one I didn't even think of!

I feel like I have all the info both D and I need to be prepared.. guess what we'll be doing this weekend!